Can anyone offer some feedback as to whether the OS maps are necessary for the Kerry Way? Thank you. Lisa

I may be walking the Kerry Way in September, 2010. I have purchased the Kerry Way guidebookbut am wondering how necessary the OS maps are for this walk. Is the walk waymarked so well that the book alone will suffice for navigation or are the maps a necessity?

My husband and I walked the West Highland Way this last fall and didn't even crack open our OS maps, and only consulted our book periodically as this path was so well waymarked. Thus the purchase of the maps was a waste of money. Any feedback would be most appreciated. Thank you. Lisa

Through my experience with long-haul hikes, guides are usually enough if you have pre-arranged accomodation. If you are planning on camping wild, the OSI maps are very useful for looking ahead to find possible camping locations. Another thing to consider is the possibility a member of your group could be injured and require rescue, in this instance an OSI map grid reference is the quickest way to be found. It is recommended that you have OSI maps but not essential as the Way is fairly well marked. I hope this helps your decision.

First, I'm not surprised you didn't need OS maps on the West Highland Way: it has much better, and more consistent, waymarking than Kerry Way. A decent map may not be needed if you don't get lost but is surprisingly useful if you do.

Second, long before September 2010 our new edition will be out. We are working on this at present, and it documents all the changes to the route (not inconsiderable) and if you bought your guidebook direct from us we can arrange a swap for you if you email us separately.

I mention route changes, because it is a separate exercise to work out whether your "OS" maps (which are presumably OSI Discovery series 1:50,000) are new enough to show the various changes. Put differently, I suggest you don't buy them in advance for this very reason, buy locally and when you get there. You'd only need to buy 3 in total, and they are sold much more cheaply in Ireland than online.

This is an update on Ordnance Survey Ireland maps for the Kerry Way. To cover the Way (all but a couple of km) you need only three sheets, numbered 78, 83 and 84. Beware of older editions: sheet 78 has just come out in its 4th edition, showing the route extension into the centre of Killarney (although the 3rd edition is otherwise adequate and includes the Windy Gap alternative south of Glenbeigh).

Sheets 83 and 84 are due to have 4th editions out by about July, and we look forward to those. The third edition of sheet 83 still shows the route turning right at Chiclog, although it now turns left and makes a longer, less direct approach to Cahersiveen. However, you won't get lost if you follow the older map, you would just cover a shorter distance, albeit all on roads, than is intended and miss some good views.

All three maps are available direct from Rucksack Readers at a discount. We always stock the latest editions that we can obtain. For more about the route changes, please see this post.